Smartivity DIY Pinball Machine Toy for Ages 8-99 Year Old | Award Winning Arcade Game for Boys & Girls | Birthday Gift Ideas for Kids & Adults | STEM Toys I Fun Family & Party Game

I purchased the smartivity pinball machine for my 7 year old son, who desperately wanted a pinball machine for christmas. After looking at some tabletop machines, browsing through numerous reviews, and weighing the pros and cons, I decided that the likelihood of a cheap plastic machine ending up in a landfill after only a couple of months was probable, and not aligned with my less waste goals.Upon first opening his gift, my son was surprised as I'm sure he was expecting an electric game. Once we opened up the box to begin building he was very excited to see all the components, and he couldn't wait to start building. We first made sure everything that was included came in the box and decided it would be best to leave the sheets intact until we were prompted to take the pieces from them.Now let me get to the instruction manual. If there were ever an example of what a perfect instruction manual should look like, it would be this. The directions were exceedingly clear and concise consisting of written description and coordinating pictures of the front view as well as the reverse view which was very well planned out. There was honestly not one step of the way where we were confused on what to do next. we completed the build together in two sessions that were about 1 to 2 hours each, Which I feel is a perfect amount of time to inspire anticipation in my son while not causing frustration or burnout.We're getting to the best part now. This completed pinball game is so so so much fun! my son played for 2 hours straight on the first day. On the second day he played a total of 4 hours trying out all the different techniques and variations. I have never seen him so involved and interested in anything as I saw him with this pinball machine. My teenage son's friend has been over twice this week as well, and he was drawn to the pinball machine both times playing with it for a good amount of time. I especially love the balls in the vaults for keeping your score which doubles as math practice.Overall this has by far been the best online purchase to date that I have ever made, and it has been the most enjoyable thing that I have ever taken part in building. The pinball machine is solid, high quality, and obviously very entertaining as well. If you are looking for a great gift for an engineering-minded kid, I can't recommend this pinball machine enough. Buy it!

What fun! My ten year old grandson is having a blast with this pinball machine. My wife and I enjoyed playing it what little we were allowed. Once each. My grandson and I assembled it together. I am and electrical engineer and he is predisposed to this sort of thing. He probably could have put it together himself. It only took us approximately two hours to assemble it. I read the instructions and guided him through the assembly which he did mostly himself. My goal was to have something that I could do with him and this definitely was quality time together. The instructions were mostly good. There were a couple of steps I thought were missing but we easily figured it out. Overall the instructions were very thorough. I can see where some people in reading other reviews may have had trouble assembling this pinball machine because their talents lie elsewhere but the instructions are rather good. Kudo's to the designers and makers of this toy. It is ingenious.I can't say that it has been educational since he wanted to just play it. I'll have to see if I can discuss the science behind the levers, rubberbands, gravity and such at a later time after the thrill subsides a bit. The size is good for what it is. It seems very sturdy. It is one of the few toys I have seen fastened with rubber bands and it seems to work. We will see how durable this is.

It had an excellent instruction manual. Step by step and pictures to help make sure you assembled properly. Extra parts. Took 1 and 1/2 hours to assemble with an 8 year old and did it in two sessions. 8 year old did all the assembly and adult helped keep the project on course, helped interpret instructions and occasionally held a component while 8 year old completed step. Best is to pull the parts at the beginning of each assembly section rather than on the fly. Best to avoid popping out parts not needed as they are easier to find if in the precut pop out boards. Actually it is a bit of fun to find the parts before each section.The side, top and bottom component are done first so the end results do not reveal the ultimate results but completing each component felt rewarding.Once completed the game is fun and has the flipper action of a good pinball machine.Seems rugged considering an 8 year boy and 5 year old boy played it with the vigor you might expect of that age.A super experience for kids over computer games. They can learn a lot including some math for adding up points.

Our son had a great time putting this together-for the most part. It took him a little bit longer than some of his other projects. There was one point in particular that was frustrating for him because he couldn’t get the pieces to attach the way the instructions said to attach them. He had to take a break from working on it and come back to it a little later. The second time, it went much better and he was able to finish the pinball machine. It actually works! He showed it to a few of the neighborhood kids and they all wanted to play with it. This was a fun project to watch my son do. It was the most difficult one he’s done so far, as he hasn’t done any Smartivity projects before this summer. It was great to see him do some of the easier ones but this one was a real challenge and kept him busy longer than the other ones. Definitely fun if you have kids who love watching engineering people on social media (Mark Rober is a favorite at our house) and they want to make something themselves. The quality is good—it’s this thin wood kind of material— so it’s not the sturdiest pinball machine ever made, but it doesn’t immediately crumble if not handled gently. Great hands on project and fun for kids to play with afterwards.